


Tears of Summer

by Nelalila



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Blackmail, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fluff and Angst, Gaslighting, Grooming, Humiliation, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Irondad, M/M, Manipulative Quentin Beck, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Poor Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Quentin Beck Being a Jerk, Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Coercion, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:34:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28776126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nelalila/pseuds/Nelalila
Summary: During his promising summer internship at Stark Industries, Peter gets to work with Quentin Beck, the genius mind behind the world-famous BARF technology. At first, Peter doesn’t question Mr. Beck’s intensive, penetrating stares or the random, almost casual touches, dismissing it as his overwhelmed mind getting paranoid. After all, he’s one of Tony’s most brilliant engineers. He surely would never do anything Peter wasn’t comfortable with… right?--Or: Peter learns that there are men who stop at nothing to get what they want.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Quentin Beck/Peter Parker
Comments: 209
Kudos: 448





	1. I. Excitement

**Author's Note:**

  * For [girlonthewind](https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlonthewind/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  ** _Warning!_** This fic is gonna deal with sexual coercion, sexual abuse and rape of a minor. Most of what happens will only be implied, but make sure to be careful and read at your own risk!  
> \--  
> This is a prompt from the lovely Becca/girlonthewind: “ _I was thinking of something on the heavier side involving the character of Quentin Beck? Not as a Spidey villain, but maybe he’s working at Stark Industries or some other job and discovers Peter’s identity, then Beck agrees to keep quiet if Peter lets him take advantage of him in terms of ‘sexual favors’ or something of the like? :) Worried dad Tony would make it complete :D”_  
>  \--  
> I’ve never written a prompt before, but I liked the idea of it a lot. The story is set during the summer break after Peter’s sophomore year. Up until the beginning of the fic, it’s canon-compliant, with the exception that Tony’s lab is still at the old Avengers tower. Beck’s team is the one we know from FFH, even though I doubt that they all worked in the same department or division.  
> \--  
> Thank you Gypsywoman13 for beta-reading 💕💕

“You’re joking, right?”

“I’m totally not,” Tony said, lips curling into a fatherly smile. 

Radiating with excitement, heat flashed up to the nape of Peter’s neck and his pupils widened. “J-Just to get this straight - You’re offering me an _official summer internship_ at Stark Industries. It has nothing to do with… Avenger business. This is an _actual job_ at the company. And… you’re totally serious?”

Tony shakes his head, chuckling. “Yes, I’m serious. I already spoke to Pepper, and she approved. We’ll pay you twenty dollars an hour, thirty hours a week, so you’ll have plenty of time to do all your spidermanning. All you need to do is say ‘yes’.”

“Y-Yes, of course, oh my god, this is--I don’t know what to say,” Peter stumbled through his sentence, feeling jittery. “This is a dream come true, Mr. Stark. Thank you, thank you _so much_.”

Peter’s first instinct was to lean forward and hug the older man, but he didn’t want a repetition of what happened in Tony’s car last year. _‘We’re not there yet,’_ Tony had said, and even though they’d developed a sort of ~~father-son~~ mentor-mentee relationship in the last couple of months, Peter didn’t want to risk getting rejected again.

* * *

Two weeks later, Peter nervously entered the lobby of Stark Industries for the first day of his internship. He hadn’t been able to sleep properly because he was way anxious about messing it up and disappointing the man he’d started to see as a father figure. 

“I, um… h-hey,” Peter stuttered when he approached the reception, blushing a little when the female reception looked at him questioningly, probably wondering what a kid his age was doing here. “I’m Peter Parker. It’s… the first day of my summer internship.”

Flashing him a friendly smile, the woman started typing something into her computer. “Parker… Peter… Ah, yes. Do you have an ID?”

Nodding, Peter dug his wallet out of the pocket of his jeans, handing her his student card. After taking a proper look at it, she gave it back to him. “The elevator’s down the hall. Floor 15, R&D department. Report to Mr. Jenkins.”

“Actually, he can report to me,” a self-assertive voice came from behind Peter. Turning around, his eyes fell on Tony, strutting through the hall as if he owned the place. Well, admittedly, he _did_ own the place, but-

“You coming?” Tony grinned, beckoning Peter over to join him on his way over to the elevator.

“M-Morning, Mr. Stark,” Peter said, lips curling into an exciting smile. “I didn’t expect to see you. Do you have business here today?” After all, Tony had told him he didn’t visit the firm often anymore since he’d retired as CEO. 

“Yes, but not before nine thirty. Thought I’d show you around a little… make sure you were interested in what I picked out for you. We assigned you to the holographic illusions division of the R&D department. After the lecture you gave me on virtual and augmented reality, I thought this might meet your interests.”

Winking, Tony pressed the button to the fifteenth floor, chuckling softly when Peter blushed. A month ago, he had been rambling to Tony about the possibilities of holographic computer games for almost an hour, having forgotten that Stark Industries had already developed an innovative holographic system for therapeutic pursuits a year ago. 

“This is very kind of you, Mr. Stark. It’s perfect, really, I’m sure I’ll love it.”

A second later, the elevator came to a halt. Peter and Tony stepped out of the elevator, with Tony leading the way. He led Peter down various corridors, introducing him to a bunch of people they met on the way, but Peter was way too nervous to remember any of their names. Eventually, they arrived in an office that featured a vast amount of computers, monitors, a small stage, and various projectors. There were only four people bustling around the room, two women and two men.

“Welcome to the holographic illusions division,” Tony smiled, clapping his hands together to attract everyone’s attention. “Morning, everyone. How’re you doing?” Without waiting for an answer, Tony put his right hand on Peter’s left shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. “I’m here to drop off our newest summer intern. This is Peter. I expect you to treat him with respect, and that you let him assist you with whatever you need help with. He’s a very smart kid and excited to do his best for the following two months.” Tony looked around the room, puzzled. “Where’s Beck?”

“Right here,” said an indifferent voice behind them. Peter spun around, looking right at a tall, handsome man with brown hair and stubble, who was eying him intently. “Nobody told me we were getting an intern.”

Ignoring the subtle rebuke in Beck’s voice, Tony said, “Beck, this is Peter Parker. Peter, this is Quentin Beck, the man who made me B.A.R.F.”

“Um… why did he make you barf, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, noticing that Beck’s face had hardened. 

Tony let out a guffaw. “This joke just never gets old, right Beck?” 

Mr. Beck’s smile seemed forced when he looked at Peter, completely ignoring Tony, “He’s talking about the holographic system I developed for the company. Mr. Stark gave it the lovely name _‘B.A.R.F.’_ , short for binarily augmented retro-framing’.”

Peter could feel that his face grew hot once again. “ _Oh._ Yeah, sure, I, um, read a lot about it and its technical specifications.”

“Really?” Beck asked, sounding slightly impressed, so Peter eagerly nodded his head.

“Yeah. It’s very fascinating. I’d die to learn more about it, sir.”

“Well… A lot of the technology behind it is very secretive, so I’m not sure how much I can show you,” Beck said, cocking his head to the side before focusing his eyes on Tony. “Mr. Stark?”

Squaring his shoulders, Tony cleared his throat. “Nothing is off limits. I completely trust the kid.” Then, he glanced at his watch. “Dammit, I promised Pepper I’d see her at nine thirty. I better get going.” Lips curling into an encouraging smile, he put his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “I hope you enjoy your time here. If you need anything, give me a call.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark. I’m sure I will.”

A few moments later, Peter was alone with the team, nervously shifting from one foot to the other when he realized they were all staring at him. “Um… H-Hey, I’m Peter,” he stupidly said, face growing as red as a tomato when he remembered that Tony had already introduced him.

Fortunately, Beck didn’t make a fuss about it. “Glad to have you here, Peter,” he said, smiling kindly. “I’m Quentin Beck, team leader, and this is my team: William Ginter River, Gutes Guterman, Janice Lincoln and Victoria Snow.” Even though they were smiling at him, Peter couldn’t help noticing that some of them were looking at him a little warily; especially Guterman and Lincoln. He had no idea why that could be until Beck straight out said, “I gotta say, I’m a little surprised... Stark never mentioned having a protégé. How did you get to know him?”

“I... “ 

_Great, now what?_

He couldn’t exactly tell him the same shit he was telling everyone else. _‘I have an internship at Stark Industries’_ wasn’t something he should tell people _actually working here_ , especially after Tony introducing him as the _newest_ summer intern. In fact, the only time Peter had ever been at Stark Industries before was about ten months ago or so. Tony and he had been taking some pictures showing Peter holding up a fake ‘Internship certificate’, to have ‘proof’ he was actually working here in case his classmates or teachers doubted it still. 

_Maybe they should’ve given this more thought before the internship started…_

“I, um… Last year, I won a ‘Meet & Greet’ with him and… we were talking for a bit and had a great time, so we’ve been keeping in touch… sort of… And when I mentioned that I’m still looking for a summer job, Mr. Stark offered me this internship.”

Peter wasn’t sure whether they actually believed him, but fortunately nobody inquired about it any further. Beck absentmindedly bit down on his bottom lip before he said, “I see. How old are you? You’re still in High School, I assume?”

“Yes, I’m gonna be a junior in fall,” Peter nodded, glad that they’d moved on from the previous conversation. “And I’m turning sixteen in August.”

“I see,” Beck said again, lips curling into a faint smile. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Well, I hope you’ll like your time here. Care for a coffee? Or maybe a hot chocolate? There’s a vending machine right down the hallway. I can show you around.”

“Sure,” Peter beamed, already feeling more welcome. “Thank you, Mr. Beck.”

“You can call me Quentin,” the man said, smiling as he opened the door for Peter, almost casually resting his hand on Peter’s back. “After all, we’re workmates now.” 

He winked, guiding Peter down the hallway. On their way to the vending machine, he pointed at numerous doors, saying stuff like, ‘This is my office’, or ‘This is where we’re holding our daily jour fixe and other meetings’. 

Eventually, Peter asked, hand clutching a cup of hot chocolate, “I’m honestly surprised you’re developing all these things in a team of only five. Like… this is pretty impressive.”

“I actually developed B.A.R.F. on my own,” Beck said, cocking his head before he took a sip from his coffee. “My team only helped me with some minor details, but the idea and technology comes from me and me alone.”

Peter bit down on his bottom lip. Beck’s face had hardened again, making him look as though he was a little bitter about B.A.R.F., which he probably was. Everything Peter had ever read about it so far had only mentioned Stark Industries or Tony. As an employee, Beck probably never really received any credit for his work.

“You… don’t really like the name Mr. Stark gave it, do you?” Peter asked before he could help himself, flinching a bit when Beck stared at him, brows furling. “Um… S-Sorry, I just… um...”

He only relaxed once Beck chuckled. “It’s fine, no need to apologize. I mean… it’s not my business what Stark calls it, but… the system is a revolutionary breakthrough with limitless applications… it could do so much more than being turned into a self-therapy machine. And with that name, everyone’s just… laughing about it, you know? I worked so hard for it, and Stark managed to turn it into a joke. At least, to a certain extent.”

They fell into an awkward silence. Eventually, Peter decided to apologize to Beck, even though he had no idea what he was even apologizing for. “I’m sorry, Mr. Beck. That’s really… hm… Have you told Mr. Stark about how you feel?”

Beck flashed him a sympathetic smile. “Stark doesn’t give a shit about these things, Peter. But that’s just how things are. Everything we do for the firm, we _do_ for the firm and the firm only. They own us, just like they own our inventions. But in the end, it doesn’t matter all that much. What matters is that we use our brains and skills to help make the world a better place, and that’s what I intend to keep doing.”

Eyes crinkling kindly, Beck put his hand on Peter’s shoulder, looking at him intently. He was so tall Peter had to tilt his head back to hold his gaze. “You’re a good kid, Peter,” he said softly. “We have two exciting months ahead of us and I can’t wait to see what you can do. I’ll make sure you’ll never forget your time here at Stark Industries.”

“Thanks, Mr. Beck,” Peter said, cheeks turning pink once more. 

“I told you to call me Quentin,” Beck chuckled, subtly tightening his grip. His piercing blue eyes seemed to x-ray Peter. “But if you feel better, then you can call me Mr. Beck, of course. Whatever you prefer.”

There was something peculiar about the way Beck was looking and smiling down at Peter, but the boy couldn’t tell what it was. All he knew was that a faint shiver ran down his spine as he was staring at Beck’s perfect, shiny white teeth. 

“No, I’d… love to call you Quentin, Mister- I mean, _Quentin_ ,” Peter quickly corrected himself, wishing he wouldn’t be such a mess. He couldn’t wait to prove himself to Beck and his team, and, most importantly, make Tony proud. 

This was going to be the summer of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just an introduction of sorts, but shit’s gonna hit the fan real soon. Don’t forget to subscribe if you want to be notified about updates. If you liked it, please let me know by leaving kudos or a comment <3


	2. II. Anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter’s internship takes a turn for the worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for beta-reading [ Gypsywoman13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gypsywoman13/pseuds/Gypsywoman13)💕

For the first two weeks Peter thoroughly enjoyed his time at Stark Industries. The tasks he was assigned with were interesting, the team was nice enough, and Beck always made sure to explain everything to Peter, even letting him help with some of the coding or experiments. 

On top of that, working at Stark Industries had another advantage; it enabled Peter to go on patrols in Manhattan without having to swing all the way over from Queens, saving him precious minutes. Whereas on the first day, Peter hadn’t dared to take the suit with him in case they’d frisk his backpack, he soon realized that as an official intern of the company he didn’t have to go through security anymore. From then on Peter always stuffed the suit into his backpack, allowing him to change in abandoned backstreets or alleyways in the area around the company.

Every Friday Peter went to the tower after work, meeting with Tony down in the lab to work on the suits together, or tinker with Tony’s bots. Ever since his internship started, Peter had been even more excited than usual. He made sure to tell Tony everything about the past week at work. With a fatherly smile, Tony patiently listened to him rambling and told him how happy he was that Peter was enjoying himself.

On Monday of week three, Peter arrived in the office and fetched himself a hot chocolate from the vending machine before joining the team for the daily jour fixé. By now he almost felt as though he was an equal member of the team, welcomed and appreciated by everyone.

At 9:45 a.m. Beck ended the meeting, but asked Peter to stay back for a minute. “How was your weekend?” Beck casually asked, swallowing his last sip of coffee.

“It was great. On Saturday, my aunt and I went to IKEA to look for a new couch, and Sunday I went to see a movie with my best friend. What about yours?”

“I was here, actually.” Beck smiled mischievously. “There’s something I’m working on that nobody knows about. I mean, I will eventually tell the team and my direct supervisor, obviously, but for now it’s supposed to stay a secret.” When Peter just stared at him curiously, Beck raised his brows. “Aren’t you gonna ask what I’m working on?”

“Um… I would, but you said it’s supposed to stay secret,” Peter said sheepishly.

Chuckling, Beck shook his head, a glimmer of admiration shining in his eyes. “God, you’re way too adorable for this world, you know that?”

Peter could feel his face growing hot. _Adorable?_ Not knowing how he should react to that ( _He wasn’t supposed to say ‘Thanks, you too’ in return, right…_?), he awkwardly shifted in his seat. 

But Beck neither seemed upset nor embarrassed about Peter’s lack of reaction. “To be honest, I was hoping you could assist me,” he said bluntly, leaning forward. “I could really use some help and you’re the smartest, most brilliant kid I’ve ever met. In fact, I think you’re the most talented of the whole team.”

Suddenly, Peter felt a few inches taller. “Really?” he asked, a warmth spreading through his chest. _Smartest and most brilliant?_ _And… most talented member of a team, consisting of people so much more experienced and older than him?_

“Really,” Beck confirmed, looking at him intently. “And I trust you completely. I know my secrets will be safe with you.” Lips curling into a kind smile, he leaned back with a wink. “So, what do you say?”

“I’d love to help you, Quentin. As long as it… doesn't go against company policy or something."

"Of course not," Beck said soothingly, "You don't need to worry about that. There’s one thing, though. Since we’re working on a secret project, we can’t do it during normal work hours when the rest of the team is here.”

“But I’m only working thirty hours a week,” Peter said, frowning. “And I… have places I need to be in the afternoon.”

Beck raised his brows. “You _need_ to be somewhere? Where?”

Heat flashed up to the nape of Peter’s neck when he tried to come up with an excuse. He couldn’t exactly tell him that he had to go on patrol, could he? “I, um… you know, friends and stuff.”

Beck was watching him for a few seconds before he grinned. “Ah, I see. You got a girlfriend.”

“What? No, I don’t,” Peter said, vigorously shaking his head.

 _“Boyfriend_?”

“Um… neither.”

“You sure? I wouldn’t judge.”

“Y-Yes. I, um, don’t have a boyfriend. _Or_ a girlfriend.”

Once again raising his brows, Beck looked at Peter in astonishment. “Are you telling me someone as cute as you is single?”

Peter really wished he’d stop blushing. This was the second time in ten minutes that Beck had made him a compliment that felt somewhat out of place. _Unless he was overreacting, if not paranoid…_ Thing is, so far, Peter had barely ever received compliments on his looks before, especially not from a ~~handsome~~ man twice his age.

“Um… I- I guess,” Peter stuttered, glancing at the table. Even his ears were starting to feel hot.

“But you’ve surely had a relationship before, right?”

Fighting down the urge to remind Beck that he wasn’t even sixteen yet, Peter said, “Not really. I… had this huge crush on a girl from my Decathlon team, but we only went on one date.” Not wanting to give Beck any chance to keep this conversation going, Peter demonstratively glanced at his watch. “Um, shouldn’t I get to work? It’s 10:15 already.”

“Oh, damn, you’re right,” Beck said, laughing sheepishly. “I completely lost track of time. Let’s talk later.”

When Peter started working on some drone technology with William a few minutes later, he became a little irritated with himself. Surely Beck didn’t mean to make him uncomfortable. Peter had already noticed that he’s somewhat of a tactile person, always standing close to people and touching them. More than once, Beck had fleetingly touched Peter’s arm or back. And on top of that, he was always pretty charming, if not flirty, with Janice and Victoria, who Peter knew were both married. 

Beck was just being nice, probably trying to boost Peter’s low self-esteem… Therefore, Peter would make sure not to be so ~~rude~~ awkward about it if it ever happened again. Beck was one of Tony’s most brilliant employees, after all. He would never make Peter feel uncomfortable on purpose.

At 3:00 p.m., when Peter’s work day was officially over, he said goodbye to the team. Beck was in his office, like he’d been for most of the day. “Hey, um… do you need anything or can I go?”

Beck looked up from his notes, furrowing his brows. “I thought you wanted to work on the secret project with me?”

“Um… yes, but… I only work from nine to three every day and… as I told you, I’m quite busy in the afternoons.” Seconds later, he scolded himself; he was acting like an ungrateful brat. “I really want to work on the project with you, Quentin, but I don’t know how we could do it with me working thirty hours only.”

Leaning back, the man folded his hands before him. “Hm. The way I see it, I’m your boss and if I tell my supervisor that I require some additional help in the afternoon, I’m sure there won’t be any objections. What do you say?”

Peter pondered about it for a second. He didn’t have to go on patrol _every day_ , did he? “Um… sure,” he eventually said. “I’m sure we can do that a couple of times. But, um, I can’t stay longer without telling my aunt, or she’d probably worry pretty badly. So… how about we start tomorrow? Would that be okay?

“Of course,” Beck smiled, tilting his head. “Gives me time to properly prepare everything and speak to the supervisor. I’ll also think of something to tell the team, so they won’t ask any weird questions.” He winked and looked back into his computer screen. “Well, I think I’ve stolen enough of your time. Have a nice afternoon, Peter.”

“Thanks, you too.” Peter turned around, but halted when Beck called him back. 

“Oh, and Peter… in case you happen to talk to Mr. Stark today, please don’t mention it to him. Not yet. I don’t want him to get all excited or offer his help before I know if I can actually do it on my own, okay?”

Knowing that Beck was a little sensitive ever since B.A.R.F., Peter quickly nodded his head. “Yeah, sure. I won’t tell him, you don’t need to worry.”

“Thank you,” Beck said softly, eyes crinkling kindly. “You’re a good kid, Peter.”

* * *

Since May didn’t have any objections about Peter working overtime for a couple of days ( _‘But don’t let them exploit you, okay? Make sure they pay you or I’ll have a talk with Mr. Stark. And no late-evening patrols, I want you to come straight home on these days.’_ ), he didn’t leave the office at his usual time on Tuesday.

Instead, Peter stayed seated at his designated workplace, trying to improve the extremely tricky algorithm he was working on whenever he found the time. Nobody asked Peter what he was still doing here, so he figured that whatever Beck had told the team hadn’t made them suspicious. 

Once everyone else had left at 5:00 p.m., Beck came out of his office. “Ah, you’re still here, good. I was afraid you might have decided to back down.” He winked perkily, pulling forward a chair to sit down next to Peter. “Wanna show me how far you’ve come with your algorithm?”

“Um… sure,” Peter said, surprised that Beck didn’t want to start on the project right away. When he showed Beck what he’d come up with so far, the man leaned closer to him, his left leg touching Peter’s. “Yeah, that’s about it,” Peter concluded after a while. “I think I’ll finish it tomorrow, I just need to figure out how to improve the If-Then-Else statement down here.”

“Looks good,” Beck agreed, a hint of admiration in his voice. “Really, I can’t emphasize enough how impressed I am with your skills. I honestly don’t understand why someone like you doesn’t have dozens of suitors pining after him.”

It took Peter a few seconds to realize that Beck had, once again, dropped a slightly misplaced comment. Trying not to be a dick about it like yesterday, Peter said, shifting in his seat, “Oh, um… Thanks, but… Yeah, girls don’t really care about me all that much. I’m not really… very outgoing or _cool_ , I guess.”

Beck snorted. “It’s a shame most teenagers nowadays care more about dating a jock than someone who’s smart and kind.” Shaking his head, he shifted too, repeating the action of pressing his leg against Peter’s. “What about that girl you went on a date with?”

“She was… pretty popular, actually. I still don’t understand why she liked _me_ out of everyone. I mean, she was a senior and I was just a sophomore. But, um… yeah. It wasn’t meant to be, I guess.” 

“Hm. So she was older than you,” Beck mused loudly. “Was that the issue? Did she… want to do things you weren’t ready for?”

 _What?_

“N-No, I--“ Peter stuttered, struggling to tame the blush burning on his cheeks. “I-It was more like… her dad didn’t really like me, and then she moved to Oregon and… um…”

“Why didn’t he like you?” Beck pressed on, eyes shimmering oddly. “Did you do things to his baby girl he didn’t appreciate?”

“N-No, Quentin, I--”

“Or did you not want to do anything with her because you are into guys after all?”

A knot tightened in Peter’s chest. What did it matter what gender he was into? “No, it’s-- I mean, I-I don’t know if-- I-I’ve never liked a guy that way before.”

Shivering, Peter shifted in a small attempt to try and lean away from Beck, who didn’t seem to take the hint. “But you wouldn’t rule it out?” he asked, following his movement by leaning forward.

“I… I guess not.”

“Do you find men attractive?”

Peter gulped. He did, actually, but the way Beck was pestering him was starting to freak him out. “I… Y-Yes, but I--”

“What about Mr. Stark? Is he attractive to you?”

Peter barely noticed that his mouth dropped open. “ _What?!_ N-No. I mean, I- I guess he is a good looking person, but I don’t see him like that.”

“Oh, come on, Peter,” Beck laughed, but it didn’t sound as friendly as normal. “The way you were staring up at him when he dropped you off on your first day… let’s say, it was pretty obvious there was something more going on between you two than you let on. Stark has a reputation, and I’m not talking about what you can easily find on the internet.”

Flabbergasted, Peter gaped at Beck. _Is this what this is about?_ “W-Wait, are you implying that Mr. Stark… N-No, he… he isn't like that. He doesn't--”

“But he _is._ Everyone at Stark Industries knows, but everyone is too afraid to talk about it. The minute you walked into that door, we all knew you were Stark’s little whore.”

Disgusted, Peter pushed his chair back, jumping up. “That’s not true, I’m not-- I swear, he never-- Quentin, please, you have to believe me.” _It couldn’t be true._ Then again, they had all been looking at him pretty warily on his first day, so maybe… _No. There’s no way._ “He was nothing but kind to me, _ever_ ,” Peter reaffirmed, not caring that he sounded tearful. “Please, Quentin… There’s nothing going on between… him and me. I swear.”

Sighing, Beck stood up as well, a soothing smile playing on his lips. “Hey, it’s okay.” He reached out to touch Peter’s shoulder. “I believe you. Sorry for making you upset, but I had to make sure.”

They kept standing like that for a few moments, Beck’s blue eyes boring into Peter’s. Eventually Peter dropped his gaze, pulling away from Beck’s grip as casually as possible. “Okay… Thank you. Um. Shouldn’t we start working on the project?”

Beck blinked a few times before his eyes widened a bit. “Oh. Yes, of course. Actually, give me a few minutes to prepare everything. Meet me in my office at 5:30. You can take a break and collect your thoughts. What we’re about to do requires your full concentration.”

Chuckling, Beck turned around and left the room, leaving behind a confused and slightly agitated Peter. He was glad about the break, but even though he tried, he couldn’t stop his thoughts from running wild. What if there was an ounce of truth to what Beck had just told him? Peter couldn’t imagine Tony ever doing anything even close to what Beck implied, but he deemed it possible that some nasty people were indeed spreading rumors about Tony. People, who were no doubt jealous of him and what he had achieved…

Peter’s head was still hurting at the time he went into Beck’s office. To his surprise, Beck was sitting behind his desk, which was empty apart from a closed folder. 

“Take a seat, please,” Beck said, the ghost of a smile twitching on his lip. 

Confused, Peter sat down at the chair opposite of Beck, his brows pinched together. Beck slowly slid the folder towards Peter. “What you’re about to see might be a lot to take in. Make sure to read everything properly.”

Goosebumps were prickling up Peter’s arms, making him shiver. “O-Okay.”

Anxious, yet curious, Peter opened the folder. The first page was an unspectacular looking paper with a few lines of text. Taking a deep breath, Peter began to read carefully. 

_“The photos you are about to see are just a small amount of what I’ve been able to gather in the last couple of weeks. I entrusted some friends of mine with numerous copies, to make sure everything will be taken care of ‘just in case’. You might want to take that into consideration before you do something really stupid, like attacking me. If I don’t call them in the next thirty minutes they will send these photos to the press, not to mention the Secretary of State, and the United Nations. I am sure you know about the relevance of the Sokovia Accords, so I don’t have to tell you what these photos could mean for the future of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.”_

When Peter had reached the end of the text, he was sweating. His breath hitched when he flipped the page, flinching so terribly that he almost dropped the folder. It was a series of photos showing him changing into the suit before swinging off, leaving no doubt that this wasn’t Peter rocking a very realistic cosplay. 

_How did Beck manage to take these photos?_ The angle they were taken from almost made it seem like--

_The drones._

William had told him that the Stark Industries Combat drones he was working on not only were equipped with built-in cameras, but that they were also able to generate advanced holographic projections to conceal their presence. Which meant that it allowed them to completely blend in with their surroundings. 

_Oh god._

"Not to mention what the release of those photos could mean for the future of your very human and vulnerable aunt,” came Beck’s indifferent voice from afar, interrupting Peter’s thoughts. Trembling, Peter lifted his head, looking right into Beck’s cold, pitiless eyes. There was nothing friendly or soft about them anymore. “I mean… just imagine what all the bad guys would do to her if they found out who you are.”

“This… This isn’t--” Peter started, desperately trying to come up with an excuse. But if Beck had really taken these pictures himself, then he would’ve _seen_ Peter putting the suit on. There was no point in denying. “P-Please, Quentin… You can’t tell anyone about this, please. As you said, it could endanger my aunt, and--”

“I knew there was something fishy about you the day I set eyes on you,” Beck interrupted, eyes sparkling oddly. “I wouldn’t have guessed that _this_ is what you were hiding, though. And I admit, it took me a day or two to actually believe it. I mean, you were _how old_ when Spider-Man first appeared? Fourteen?”

Without waiting for an answer, Beck continued, speaking faster. “But then, it all started to make sense. Why else would Stark bother to act like a mentor to a shy, insignificant teenager from Queens? And then, last week, I found the suit in your backpack when you were in the bathroom. I know Stark tech when I see it, so don’t even try to deny that he knows who you are.”

Peter gasped; this was bad. He shouldn’t have let the backpack lying around, but he never expected anyone on the team to go through his stuff.

With a mean grin playing on his lips, Beck said, “I guess Stark made you this fancy, high-tech looking suit that leaves little to nothing to the imagination when he recruited you to deal with the rogue Avengers last year. And when that was over, he offered you a place in his arrogant group of freaks… in return for some immoral favors, no doubt.”

Peter vehemently shook his head. “No, it’s not-- I told you, Mr. Stark has never--”

But Beck didn’t listen to him. “As you know, the Sokovia Accords are designed to regulate the activities of enhanced individuals. Specifically, those who work for either government agencies such as S.H.I.E.L.D., or for private organizations such as the Avengers. Wasn’t it Stark who immediately signed them, insisting it was the right thing to do? And now, it turns out he supports an underage vigilante contravening the Accords and everything they stand for. The UN might not have cared too much about you so far because you’re pretty insignificant compared to other superhumans, but I doubt they’d let you operate any longer if they found out you were just an immature, cocky _child_. And Stark would become a wanted man, forced to go into hiding. A fallen hero. A criminal, just like Rogers, Maximoff, Barton, Romanoff, and basically all the other wanna-be superheroes who have a blithe disregard for rules, thinking it’s alright to endanger lives by doing whatever they see fit.”

Shaking with fear and anger, Peter clenched his fist and bit down on his bottom lip. To his utter embarrassment, the tears, which had welled up during Beck’s rant, now started streaming down his cheeks, making him seem even more vulnerable than he already was.

“P-Please, Quentin… Mr. Beck… please don’t release the photos. I’m not hurting everyone, I’m just… looking out for the little guy. I’m not even a real Avenger, and Mr. Stark is keeping an eye on me so I won’t fuck up, please, I--”

“Like that time you almost drowned a hundred people on the Staten Island ferry? Or when you crashed a plane on Coney Island, endangering the lives of thousands of innocent citizens? All that, just so you could catch a lousy thief stealing some toys from your oh-so-precious Mr. Stark?” Peter opened his mouth to argue, but Beck held up his hand, glaring at him. “I read all about it in the Daily Bugle. I don’t have time to listen to your lame apologies or explanations. I have about fifteen minutes before one of my friends releases the photos, so maybe you should focus on the _real question_ instead.”

A shiver ran down Peter’s spine when Beck got up, circling the desk to come stand next to him. It’s pretty obvious that he was trying to blackmail Peter, but what could someone like Peter possibly offer someone like Beck?

Desperate to swallow the bile of lump in his throat, Peter cleared his throat. “W-What can I do to… convince you not to tell anyone about this?” he asked, voice still scratchy. “I- I don’t have any money.”

“I don’t care about _money_ ,” Beck snorted. “What I care about is hurting Stark, and taking what he must be desperate to get. You see, I don’t doubt for a second that he likes to jerk off to the idea of those delicate pink lips wrapped around his cock. I’m sure he can’t wait to see those innocent puppy eyes of yours watering while he’s fucking your mouth.”

Too terrified to speak, Peter simply gaped at Beck, barely noticing that the man had reached down to undo his belt. Only when Beck said, “Just like I do,” his voice nothing more than an animalistic growl, Peter snapped out of it. 

“W-What do you--”

The rest of his sentence got stuck in his throat when Beck opened his zipper, taking out his big, erect cock.

A rush of panic engulfed Peter’s veins, spreading like ice. _This can’t be happening._ Everything inside of Peter was screaming at him to jump up and smack Beck across the face, but he was frozen, unable to do anything except shake pitifully. 

There was a ringing in his ears when Beck grabbed his shoulder, vicelike, forcing him down on his knees. “Now, be a good boy and open your mouth. If I feel so much as a scratch of a tooth, our deal is off. You have ten minutes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your support on chapter 1, hope you liked this one as well :)  
> Follow me on [Tumblr](https://thenelalila.tumblr.com/) or join our [MCU Discord server](https://discord.gg/6wFsB2f)  
>  **Update 01/30:** No new chapter this week because I uploaded a new story. But I'll update it next week <3


	3. III. Shame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter tries to deal with the aftermath of what Beck did to him. Unfortunately, Beck isn’t done with him yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you for beta-reading Gypsywoman13 💕  
>  **Warnings:** Mentions of sexual abuse and some flashbacks to what was said during. Please be careful <3

Half an hour later, Peter stumbled out of the building, feeling groggy. What had just happened was so surreal to him, yet he could still feel Beck’s fingers pulling at his hair… could still hear Beck’s disgusting moans, could still _taste_ Beck’s--

Feeling the sudden, desperate urge to throw up, Peter darted for the trash can a few feet to his right, heaving his guts up-- _and everything that Beck forced him to swallow…_

A pedestrian who was walking by mumbled something that sounded like, ‘Fucking junkies’, but Peter didn’t find it in himself to care. Instead, he kept on standing there for a few more minutes, clutching the trash can, unable to refrain from sobbing when the terrifying truth hit him like a freight train.

_Beck forced him to suck his cock._

_Peter sucked Beck’s cock._

Only once a young woman asked him whether Peter was alright did he snap out of it, quickly stuttering out a, ‘Y-Yes, thanks’, before dragging himself away and to the metro station. 

On the train, Peter felt like everyone was watching him. Was there vomit (or something else…) on his mouth or shirt? Did they know what he just did? Could they _see_ it in his eyes? Desperately trying to blink away his tears, Peter made sure to stay as far away from the other passengers as possible, feeling besmirched and… unworthy.

Once home, he immediately dashed off to the bathroom, only managing to mumble a quick, ‘Hi’, to Aunt May on the way. He spent almost fifteen minutes trying to cleanse his mouth of Beck’s foul taste with water and a toothbrush, and then he washed his hands until it started to hurt. At last, Peter took a long shower, but it barely helped. He still felt dirty, 

When he finally got out of the bathroom, May was waiting for him already with her brows furled in worry. “Is everything alright, sweetheart? You look a little… sick.”

Thankful to have an excuse, Peter nodded “Y-Yeah, I don’t… feel so good. I think I’ll go to bed early,” he mumbled, glancing at the floor because he couldn’t look her in the eyes. _Not after what he allowed Beck to do…_

"Aren't you hungry? I cooked pasta," she asked, but Peter quickly shook his head. _Eating was the last thing he wanted._

"No, really, thanks, but I'm not hungry."

"Hm. You haven't been sick for so long now, I was starting to hope that spider bite had somehow made you resistant against these sorts of things," May sighed, reaching out to cup Peter’s cheek.

He leaned away, flashing her a quick apologetic look. "I- I'm sure it's nothing serious. I'm just a little tired."

"You also sound a little hoarse," she said, making Peter’s stomach churn. _Oh god._ His throat did indeed hurt from what Beck had done… "I really hope you don't catch a cold. Lie down, sweetie, I'll bring you a cup of tea."

Later, when Peter was laying in bed, everything that had happened was replaying in his mind over and over again, making it impossible to fall asleep. 

_Why did he let Beck do this to him?_

He wasn’t just a small high school kid who stood no chance against his attacker. He was _Spider-Man_ , for fuck’s sake. He should’ve been able to fight back. But he had still allowed it to happen.

Even though Peter knew that Beck had a hold over him with the photos, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was _something_ he could have done to prevent it from happening. At least, he should have tried to reason with Beck… But he hadn’t done anything because he had been _scared_.

Maybe Beck was right. Maybe, Peter was nothing more than a _child_.

Immature… 

… And insignificant.

* * *

The next morning, Peter still felt sick to his stomach. Having barely slept, he dragged his feet out of bed, looking like death himself. He was almost glad when May insisted he stayed home today, promising to call Stark Industries and tell them he was too sick to go to work. When she considered staying home herself and calling a doctor, however, Peter refused by saying he didn’t want to risk the doctor somehow finding out about his enhanced abilities. 

“I’ll be fine, May. Thanks,” he said, grabbing the fresh cup of tea and the banana May had prepared for him. No matter how sick he felt, Peter knew he had to try and eat something. 

“All right, but call me if you feel worse or if you need anything, okay?”

Nodding, Peter quickly retreated to his room before she might try to hug him or give him a kiss, like she still did occasionally. After an hour, Peter’s stomach began to rumble, so he peeled the banana and brought it up to his lips, opening his mouth to--

_‘Fuck, yes… open wide and suck it, slut.’_

With a choked up sob Peter dropped the banana, trying to block out Beck’s snarling voice.

_‘Your mouth truly feels like heaven… Tell me, you fucking whore, how many cocks have you sucked so far?‘_

_‘Are you imagining Stark right now? I’m sure you’d love to choke on his cock.’_

Unable to swallow the lump of bile in his throat, Peter rushed to the bathroom. He barely made it to the toilet in time before he threw up once again. _Great. Just great._

Even though he knew how ridiculous it was, Peter threw the banana away, being thoroughly disgusted with himself for more than one reason. Throwing away perfectly fine food wasn’t the rock bottom of his day, though… At 11:00 a.m., Peter got a call from an unknown number.

Afraid that it could be Beck, Peter didn’t pick up. He regretted it once he received a text message right after the caller gave up. He had to take a few calm breaths before he felt brave enough to open it, whimpering when he read, _‘Nobody likes liars or cowards, Peter.’_

Before Peter could even consider replying, his phone rang again. Knowing it wouldn't get better if he kept ignoring it, Peter eventually picked up, heart beating so rapidly he could feel it in his throat. "Y-Yes?" 

“Sick, huh?" It was indeed Beck, growling dangerously. "How stupid do you think I am?”

“I’m not-- M-May insisted that I stayed home because I… because I threw up. Ask her, if you want.”

"You _threw up?_ Hard to believe considering how _greedy_ you were yesterday." Beck let out a cruel, icy laugh, but his voice quickly became serious again. "Make sure you’re here tomorrow, or you know what’s going to happen. And not a word to anyone. Don’t forget, my friends expect me to report to them every thirty minutes.”

Before Peter even got a chance to reason with Beck, the man had ended the call, leaving him shaking and desperate. He couldn’t allow Beck to blackmail and… _abuse_ him again, but _what was he supposed to do?_ If Peter went to the police, they’d probably put him under arrest on the spot. Not because they weren’t fond of Spider-Man - because they were - but Peter had a feeling that there was something true about what Beck had said. If they knew that Spider-Man was, in fact, Spider- _Boy_ , they would probably try to put an end to it. Not to mention that they wouldn’t be able to protect Aunt May from all the bad guys chasing her down if they knew who he was.

The only person who might be able to help Peter was _Tony_ , but Peter was way too ashamed by what had already happened to tell him about it. Moreover, all of this was (also) happening because Beck had shown Peter, quite plainly, what he’d never really taken into account - That Tony would be made responsible for Peter contravening the Sokovia Accords.

No, Peter had to figure this out on his own… somehow… and until he did, he had to play Beck’s game and hope the man would eventually get bored and… stop. 

Therefore, Peter desperately tried to look healthy and cheerful when May came home, reassuring her that he was feeling way better already. Brows furled sceptically, she said that she’d decide in the morning whether Peter was fit enough to go back to work already. Making sure to put on a brave front, Peter forced himself to eat dinner even though the fear of the next day was gnawing away at him, making it a struggle to keep his food down. 

After another sleepless night, Peter did his best to convince May that he was feeling perfectly healthy. “I just stayed up too long playing video games with Ned,” he lied, insisting that she let him go to work. “I’m _fine_ , I swear. I promise I’ll go home if I feel worse again. Please, May, we’re about to do something really cool today.”

He felt awful for lying to her, but he felt like he didn’t have a choice.

An hour later, Peter dragged his feet into the office, breathing so heavily he was close to hyperventilating. The team was already there, greeting him with a smile.

“Peter!” Beck was the first to speak, rushing forward with a fake, caring look. “How are you? I didn’t expect you to come back to work this week.”

Peter dropped his gaze, unable to bear looking the man in the eyes. “I’m… better, thanks.”

“Hm… Are you sure? You still look a little pale.”

Peter had to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from yelling obscenities at Beck. _He was such an asshole._ Eyes watering, Peter spoke to the floor, “Yes, I’m good. Just… a little tired.”

“That’s good to hear,” Beck said, reaching out to put his hand on Peter’s right shoulder. The boy involuntarily flinched back, not wanting this monster to touch him. When he heard a very distinct growl, Peter anxiously glanced up, seeing a dangerous gleam in Beck’s eyes. 

Knowing he’d just fucked up, Peter quickly forced his lips into a fake smile. “A-Anyways, I’m very excited to get back to work.”

“Perfect. Actually, why don’t you come to my office real quick? I have something you can help me with,” Beck said, causing Peter’s stomach to churn. _Please no…_ Feeling as though he was walking towards his execution, Peter followed Beck into his office, legs shaking. 

Beck closed the door after Peter had walked in, trapping him. “Do I need to worry, Peter?” he growled, leaning forward threateningly.

“N-No, you don’t,” Peter said. He still flinched a little when Beck grabbed his chin, tilting his head up so he had to look him in the eyes.

“Good. You know, I really liked that mouth of yours. It would be a shame if it got locked away.” Then, he leaned down as though he intended to kiss Peter. 

Panicking, the boy choked out, “M-May won’t let me work overtime any longer.” He almost sighed in relief when Beck ceased, his lips only inches from Peter’s. 

“What?” Narrowing his eyes to slits, Beck growled, “Do you take me as an idiot?”

“N-No, I don’t. She believes that I was sick because I was working so long on Tuesday. I swear, Quentin, I didn’t tell her anything. I figured you wouldn’t be… h-happy about it, so I tried to change her mind, but she didn’t.”

“Well, she doesn’t have to know, does she? Beck hissed, tightening his grip around Peter’s chin until it started to hurt. “Tell her you’re going to see a friend after work or something. Considering you usually spend your afternoons swinging around the city, I’m sure there is something you can think of telling her, right?”

Cursing inwardly, Peter tried to _think_. Beck didn’t know that May knew about him being Spider-Man. And it had to stay that way. “Y-Yes, she usually thinks I’m with my best friend, but he’s in Hawaii until the end of next week. And I… don’t have any other friends.”

“Then tell her you have a fucking girlfriend.” With a menacing expression, Beck brought his head closer to Peter’s. “I don’t fucking care what you tell her, but you’re gonna stay at work for as long as _I_ want. You are _mine_ now, do you understand?”

When Peter didn’t answer Beck repeated his question, hissing so furiously that Peter could feel fine drops of spit raining down on his face. Tears gathered in his eyes. “Y-Yes. I understand.”

Finally, Beck closed the distance between their heads, muffling Peter’s sob by capturing his lips in a possessive and bruising kiss. 

* * *

The rest of the week went by in a blur. Unable to concentrate, Peter made mistake after mistake with the tasks he was assigned, mumbling a dull apology whenever one of his workmates confronted him about it. All he could think about was Beck’s lips on his mouth, Beck’s tongue and cock _in_ his mouth, and Beck’s fingers sneaking beneath the hem of Peter’s boxers, touching him in places nobody had ever touched him before. 

At home he avoided May as much as possible, but she still seemed to notice something was wrong. “Talk to me, sweetie, please,” she said on Friday during breakfast, eyes crinkled in worry. “What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing,” Peter mumbled for the perceived one hundredth time. “I’m just having trouble falling asleep, that’s all.”

He realized he had a problem when May did indeed prohibit him from working any more extra hours, ordering him to come straight home from now on. “I know you usually go to the Avenger’s tower on Fridays, but I’m sure Mr. Stark will understand if you skip it once. And no spider-manning until you’ve got a few proper nights of sleep, okay?” May added softly. “I don’t even want to imagine what could happen if you’re chasing after some gangster, all tired out. You’re not bulletproof, Peter.”

Peter nodded despondently. It’s not as though he could imagine facing Tony anyways. _Or saving people when he couldn’t even save himself..._

As expected, Beck wasn’t pleased. “You are _grounded?”_

“Yes,” Peter said, trying to come up with a hopefully plausible lie. “May, um… wanted me to come straight home yesterday, but I didn’t, so now she’s… really mad at me.” Getting an idea, Peter added, “She also threatened to call Mr. Stark and tell him that I couldn’t come to work anymore altogether, if I didn’t start to get better.”

Cursing, Beck started pacing around the room. Eventually, he came to a stop, hissing, “All right. No more extra hours. Now get your ass outta here and make yourself useful, I gotta think.”

Barely able to hide his relief, Peter hurried back to his designated workplace. _Would it be over now?_ Peter knew that Beck wouldn’t touch him during normal hours when the rest of the team was here; it was too high of a risk that they could get caught.

Unfortunately, Peter’s hope of being free vanished thirty minutes later when he received a text message from Beck. _‘Meet me on the eighteenth floor at 11:30. If anyone asks you where you’re going, tell them I asked you to run an errand for me.’_

Knowing he had no other choice, Peter did what Beck asked of him. When he stepped out of the elevator at 11:30 a.m., Beck was waiting for him already. “This floor was cleared two weeks ago because it’s gonna be renovated in the next couple of weeks,” he said with a smug smile, pointing at the torn down interior walls. “However, the workers won’t start until the midst of August, meaning we have all this space and, even better, bathrooms to ourselves. Isn’t that amazing?”

Peter gulped. “Y-Yes. Amazing.”

* * *

A week later, Peter’s knees were raw from kneeling on the cold tiles of the bathroom stalls at least once - sometimes twice - a day. Nobody on the team questioned why Peter suddenly started coming to the office later than usual, and nobody questioned why Beck and he sometimes vanished for almost half an hour. _They probably didn’t even notice._

Nothing Peter did was fun anymore. Feeling empty inside, he tried to avoid not just Aunt May but Ned as well, spending countless hours in his room crying or staring at the ceiling. When May didn’t stop worrying, Peter seized Beck’s idea and claimed that he’d developed a crush on a female intern at work who had turned him down.

It was the same thing he ended up telling Tony when he called him Thursday evening, asking Peter why he hadn’t heard anything from him for almost two weeks now.

“Oh shit, that sucks. I’m sorry, Underoos,” Tony said, sounding unusually empathic. “How about you tell me everything about it tomorrow? I really missed having you around last week.”

_‘I don’t doubt for a second that Stark jerks off to the idea of those delicate pink lips wrapped around his cock.’_

“Peter?” Tony asked when Peter stayed silent. 

Shivering, the boy tried to pull himself together. “I’d… love to, Mr. Stark, but I--”

“No excuses. Tomorrow, 3:30, like always. If your aunt doesn’t allow it, tell me so I can knock some sense into her. You need to get outta there and have some fun.”

Not even twenty-four hours later Peter found himself in front of the Avengers Tower, swallowing thickly while being hypnotized by the entrance door. Deep down, he knew that Beck had been talking bullshit. _Tony would never hurt him._ However, it didn’t mean that there wasn’t this confused and scared part inside of Peter that couldn’t help wondering if Tony didn't at least _fantasize_ about doing the same fucked up shit to him that Beck was doing.

Taking a deep breath Peter eventually started moving forward, flinching when the automatic doors slid open. The guards knew who he was, so they let him downstairs without any questions. Tony was already there, smiling brightly when Peter stepped into the lab.

“Ah, my favorite young adult! Glad to have you back, I can’t wait to show you--” Tony stopped, staring at Peter with wide eyes. “Are you sure you’re alright? You look...”

“... Like shit?” Peter suggested, trying to force his lips into a smile. “As I said, I’ve had a couple of rough days. Um. Weeks, actually. It’s fine. It just sucks that my enhanced healing doesn’t apply to heartache as well.”

Tony glanced at him warily for a few seconds before he snorted, shaking his head. “Jeez, kid... Good to see you're still cracking jokes, at least. Look, I know this sucks, but I promise you, one day, you’ll find someone who’s just right for you. You know what they say: _Fall down seven times, stand up eight_.”

The way Tony was smiling at him was so caring, so _honest_ , that Peter could feel tears welling up in his eyes. “Thank you, Mr. Stark,” he said, quickly dropping his gaze so that Tony wouldn’t see how choked up he was. “What, um, have you been working on?”

Enthusiastically, Tony showed him a new modification for Peter’s suit. Peter made sure to keep his distance while he stood next to Tony, who was too occupied with his gadget to notice. When he was done explaining everything to him, the man encouraged him to help.

“So, how’s work?” Tony asked after a few minutes of tinkering in unusual silence. “What are you guys working on?”

“It’s... great. We’re mostly working on the AR glasses right now.”

From the corner of his eye, Peter saw that Tony was looking at him. “Doesn’t really sound like you’re still excited about the internship.”

“I am. I just… I dunno. Nothing has been a lot of fun lately. It’s difficult to concentrate when all I’m thinking about is… _her._ ”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Tony offered, but Peter shook his head.

“No, but thanks, Mr. Stark. I really appreciate it.”

“Alright. But if you change your mind, I’m here for you.” 

Peter glanced up, shrinking under Tony’s penetrating look. _Did he suspect Peter was hiding something?_ Or was he just waiting for his chance to strike, like Beck had said? Peter flinched a little when Tony reached out, carefully placing his hand on his shoulder. 

“No matter what it is, you can talk to me. _Anytime_. Promise you’ll tell me if there’s anything bothering you, okay?”

Peter’s voice was shaky when he said, pulling away from Tony’s hand, “O-Okay. I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck, Beck's an asshole. I didn't have plans to make him so horrible, I'm sorry 🙈 I wish I could tell you that things will get better soon, but I'm afraid that Peter will have to suffer a little more 💔


	4. IV. Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whereas Beck takes things a step further, May and Tony get more suspicious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my patient beta-reader Gypsywoman13 💕

Peter had a bad feeling when Beck was awaiting him in the bathroom on Monday morning, stony-faced. “Why did you go to Avengers Tower on Friday?” he snarled as soon as Peter had stepped through the door, grabbing him before he pressed him against the wall. “What did you tell Stark about me, huh?”

Peter knew better than to ask how Beck knew he had been there. Swallowing thickly, he said, “I d-didn’t tell him anything, I swear. I go there every Friday.”

Beck’s eyes were shimmering dangerously. “I thought you were grounded?”

“Y-Yes, but May made an exception. I didn’t get to go the week before. She only allowed it because I’ve come straight home all week.”

“I see,” Beck growled, letting go of Peter. He glared at him for a few moments before he said, “Actually, make sure she allows you to go this week as well, but tell Stark that you can’t come. Don’t let your aunt find out, though. It’s important that she believes you’re going there.”

“Why?” Peter’s stomach clenched fearfully when Beck’s lip turned into a smug smile.

“You’ll see. Don’t want to ruin the surprise for you, do I?” Then, his expression darkened again. “What are you still standing up for? Get down on your knees where you belong.”

* * *

Peter was on edge for the whole week. Whatever Beck planned to do with him on Friday couldn’t be good, but he felt completely numb and helpless about his situation.

As expected, Tony called him immediately after Peter had cancelled their meetup on Thursday. “Kid… you know I wouldn’t force you to do anything you don’t want, but I’m really starting to get worried,” he said with a sigh.

Peter bit down on his bottom lip. “I _really_ appreciate your concern, Mr. Stark, but there’s no need to worry. I’ve been feeling a lot better this week, but, um, one of my friends from school is throwing a party tomorrow, and I’d like to go.”

“In the afternoon?”

“Um, yeah. It’s a pool party. I’m going there right after work.”

“Mhm. Which friend?”

“Michelle Johnson,” Peter said quickly. He had sometimes mentioned her to Tony before, so he hoped he would believe him.

Tony hummed again before he said, “How about I pick you up from work and drive you there? Then we can see each other for a few minutes.”

Peter felt panic - _and anger -_ rising up in him. “I… That’s very kind, but there’s no need for it.”

“What if I insist?”

Not knowing what else to do, Peter snapped, “Then there will still be no need for it. I said ‘no’, how hard is that to understand?”

Tony was quiet for a few seconds before he said, sounding oddly abashed, “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Feeling like the worst person in the world, Peter hastened to say, “No, _I’m_ sorry, Mr. Stark. I don’t know what’s gotten into me... I’m truly sorry.”

“It’s fine, kid,” Tony sighed. “Just remember, I’m here for you.”

Tears started welling up in Peter’s eyes. “I know. Thank you.”

* * *

To Peter’s surprise, Beck wasn’t waiting for him in the bathroom on Friday morning. When he still wasn’t there at 9:30 a.m. Peter anxiously went down to the office, not wanting to risk missing the jour fixé. The team - including Beck - was already sitting at the table when Peter rushed in.

“Peter!” Beck called, flashing him a fake smile. “You’re late.”

Peter’s fingers twitched; he wanted to fucking _kill_ him. “I’m sorry,” he said through clenched teeth. “I… overslept.”

“It’s fine,” Beck said graciously, “But make sure to let me know next time it happens.”

Peter was fuming throughout the whole meeting, but eventually, fear took a hold of him again. What was Beck planning on doing with him today? 

The day went by way too fast, and before Peter knew it, it was 3:00 p.m. For a moment he considered just leaving, but he feared Beck’s wrath. Wanting to be anywhere but here, Peter knocked at Beck’s office. His voice was shaking when he stated, “I-I’m done.”

“Go down to the garage and wait for me,” Beck said, crushing Peter’s hope that he had changed his mind. ”I’ll be with you in a sec.”

Peter had to wait fifteen minutes until Beck stepped out of the elevator. “I told them I had to leave early for an appointment,” he said, casually putting his arm around Peter’s shoulder and leading him to a black Porsche. “Hop in. We’re gonna go on a short ride.”

Relieved that Beck didn’t try to engage him in conversation, Peter spent the ride in silence, wrecking his brain about where they were going. Only once Beck steered the car into the driveway of a small, but expensive looking house, Peter dared to ask, “Where are we?”

“My place,” Beck answered brusquely and got out of the car. Stomach clenching, Peter quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket buttons, wanting to make sure that--

He flinched when the door got wrenched open. “What are you waiting for? Christmas?” Beck sneered when Peter didn’t move right away. The boy quickly stuffed his phone back into his pocket and crawled out of the car. Even though it was hot outside, a numbing cold started spreading through Peter’s body when he followed Beck towards the house.

“P-Please, Quentin,” he begged after the man had unlocked the door, prompting him to come inside. “I just want to go home.”

“I won’t repeat myself,” the man snarled, jerking his head. “Get your ass in here.” 

Unable to refrain from crying, Peter obliged, flinching when the door fell shut. Beck was on him in seconds. Ignoring Peter’s sobs, he kissed the teen as though he wanted to devour him. Beck pressed him against the wall, spreading Peter’s legs with one of his knees. He bucked his hips forward to grind himself against Peter’s body, breaking the kiss only to chuckle into his ear. “I’ve been waiting for this for weeks. I can’t fucking wait to see you fully naked. Oh, we’re going to have so much fun today.”

“N-No, please… P-Please let me go,” Peter begged, trying to push Beck away from him without using too much strength. “I- I don’t want this.”

“Of course you want it,” Beck growled, grabbing Peter’s chin. “You were eagerly waiting for half an hour just so you can suck my dick, like the greedy little cockslut you are.” When he groped Peter’s cock through his jeans, the boy saw red; without thinking, he gave Beck a forceful push that had the man crashing against the opposite wall.

“Big _fucking_ mistake!” Beck yelled, face distorted in fury. Rubbing the back of his head with his right hand, he fumbled his phone out of his pocket. “You really don’t fucking believe me, do you? Oh, you’re going to regret this. Just you wait.”

Taking advantage of Beck being distracted, Peter fumbled for his own phone, hands shaking terribly. “S-Stop,” he choked out, wishing he would sound more confident. When Beck lifted his head to look at him, Peter held up his phone. “D-Delete the photos, or I’m gonna send _this_ to the police.“

He pressed the button of the voice recording he’d started when Beck had gotten out of the car. Even though there was a lot of disturbance in the sound, Beck’s voice was clearly audible. _‘I’ve been waiting for this for weeks. I can’t fucking wait to see you naked.’_

Unfortunately, Beck didn’t seem to be worried. Instead he snorted scornfully, almost looking _bored_. “Go on, send it to them, I’m not stopping you. Tell me, though… What are you gonna say when they ask you why you’ve been greedily sucking my cock for weeks?”

“The truth. I- I don’t care what happens to me, I can’t take this anymore.”

Pupils widening, Beck looked at Peter in mock surprise. “What happens to _you_? I think you meant to say that you don’t care what happens to your poor aunt and to your holy Mr. Stark _._ Damn, Peter. I clearly underestimated you… I honestly thought you’d do _anything_ to keep them safe. But I guess you’re nothing more than a selfish little brat after all.”

Peter winced as though Beck had hit him across the face. _He… really was, wasn’t he?_ “Please, Quentin,” he said again, trying to reason with the older man. “We can both destroy each other’s lives, or we can both… let it go, get rid of all the evidence, and never mention it ever again. N-Nobody has to know anything.”

Unfazed, Beck typed something into his phone. Then, he held it up so that Peter could see the screen. Trembling, the boy took a careful step forward, whimpering when he realized what he was looking at.

“As you can see, I just sent one of the photos to an editor of the Daily Bugle,” Beck said in a dragging voice. “The app allows me to call back messages for as long as the recipient hasn’t seen it yet. Which could be any second now, so you better decide fast. Give me your phone.”

Crying, Peter handed over his phone to Beck. Looking pleased, the man first called back his messages to the editor, and then he deleted the voice recording Peter had made. “You better not try anything like that ever again,” Beck said warningly, eyes gleaming.

Assuming Beck was referring to the recording _and_ Peter pushing him, he sobbed, “I w-won’t. I’m sorry. Please… please don’t hurt me.” His voice broke and his sobs turned into hiccups when Beck reached for his belt.

A grim smile played on Beck’s lips. “If you’re good, then I won’t hurt you. Let’s go upstairs.”

But Beck did hurt him. 

He hurt him _a lot_.

And no matter how much Peter pleaded and begged, cried and sobbed, Beck didn’t stop. Moaning and grunting, he just held Peter down to take what he wanted without mercy, making sure to humiliate Peter as much as possible.

 _‘Look at you, you’re getting_ hard? _Fuck, you’re a bigger slut than I thought.’_

_‘How jealous do you think Stark would be if he could see us right now? How about we snap a pic to make sure we have something we can show him one day?’_

There was nothing Peter could do to prevent Beck from grabbing his phone and taking photos. With glossed-over eyes, he just lay there and let it happen, despising himself for being so careless with his secret identity, for trusting Beck in the first place, for allowing Beck to do all of this to him, and for his body to react the way it did…

When it was finally over, Beck had released himself inside of Peter more than once. Feeling too numb and empty to cry anymore, Peter barely listened to the man telling him he wanted to do this every day from now on.

“On weekdays, you’re gonna be here at 5:30. I know you’ve always been swinging around until 7:30, so there’s plenty of time for you to get home without your aunt raising suspicion. Make sure you don’t get grounded again. And during the weekend, I expect to have your full attention. Tell your aunt you’re going to visit a friend or something. You’re a smart boy, you’ll be able to figure something out.”

_Every... day…_

_How in the world is he supposed to endure this?_

Peter didn’t know how he got home. Knowing that he couldn’t risk making May even more suspicious, he pulled himself together and forced down some food for dinner, telling her about his ‘afternoon with Tony’, and yet another bullshit story about the ‘girl at work’. 

“She started dating the other male intern of R&D. They literally made out in front of me when I saw them at lunch,” Peter lied, not even trying to hold back his tears. _His bottom hurt_ really _badly._ “He’s one of those handsome, tall jocks who only got the internship because his dad knows someone, and… It just _sucks_.”

“Honey… I know this is hard, but she won’t be the last girl - or boy - you’ll develop a crush on,” May said in an effort to try and cheer him up. “You’re only turning sixteen next Sunday. You have your whole life ahead of you.”

Unfortunately, everything Peter could see ahead of him was submitting to Beck’s will. 

“What do you want to do for your birthday?” May asked when Peter kept silent. “We haven’t really spoken yet. I know you’ll be at work, but how about we go to the movies afterwards and have some dinner? Or do you want to hang out with Ned and your friends?”

Peter shrugged his shoulder. He had a feeling Beck wouldn’t care whether it was Peter’s birthday or not, so he’d probably spend it with a sweaty body on top of him, and with his face getting pressed into a mattress. “Dunno. I’ll think about it.”

Since May had to work two twelve-hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday, she didn’t really notice that Peter was barely home all weekend. Putting up a brave front, he tersely told her how much ‘fun’ his day had been, but as soon as he was back in his room he dissolved into tears, haunted by the memories of Beck forcing himself onto Peter over and over again. 

His sixth week of work started just like the last had ended, with Peter dropping to his knees in the morning and spreading his legs in the afternoon. Since he didn’t think he was worthy of the Spider-Man suit anymore, Peter usually spent the time until he had to arrive at Beck’s in the subway station. Sitting on a dirty bench, he watched the trains arriving and leaving, wishing so badly to get into one of them and go _somewhere;_ a place where Beck wouldn’t find him…

On Wednesday evening, May once again cornered him in his room. Peter had barely eaten anything at dinner, and it hadn’t been the first time this week. “If you don’t tell me what’s going on _right now_ , then I will call Tony and tell him that I want you to end the internship early. I’m sorry, honey, but I don’t know what else I can do to help you.”

“You know what’s going on,” Peter hissed, unable to prevent the tears falling from his eyes. “And if you really want to help me, then you’ll let me go to work. Please, I… I need it as a distraction.”

“From _what_?” May cried, sounding desperate. “I know you’re hurting baby, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to it than that girl turning you down. The last time you were acting even remotely like this, you were hiding all of these secrets from me. And now, it’s even worse. Peter, please, _talk to me_ … It’s just you and me. No matter what it is, we can figure it out. I know there’s something you’re not telling me again, and-- I’m _scared_ , Peter. I’m really scared.”

Crying, Peter opened his mouth, intending to spill his heart… but he couldn’t. May had already gone through so much and he couldn’t bear seeing her upset again. Somehow, she would think that all of this was her fault, and on top of that, she would be disappointed that Peter hadn’t told her sooner. 

Not knowing any other way, Peter did something very disgusting. “I just… I just can't stop thinking of my parents and Uncle Ben lately," he cried, despising himself more than ever. "With me working in this… a-amazing company and all the Spider-Man stuff, I just wished they could be here and… celebrate my sweet sixteen with me. I miss them _so much_.”

“Oh, honey…" May said, sounding broken. "I’m so, _so_ sorry… I… I miss them too, but I'm sure they know what's going on with you. I'm sure they're _very proud_ of the young man you've become."

 _Proud of a disgusting liar, who was good for nothing other than serving as a pervert’s sex toy?_ Yeah, sure. 

When May leaned forward to hug him, Peter fled to the bathroom, once again failing at washing the shame and guilt off of him.

* * *

Friday started with a very unpleasant surprise. When Beck and Peter stepped into the office at 9:30 a.m., they both ceased when they saw who was standing in the middle of the office, chatting with the rest of the team.

“There you are. Where have you two been?” Tony asked, looking at Peter intently. Only now Peter realized that he had forgotten to cancel today’s meetup at the tower.

“Oh, we’ve both been late and, um, met in the elevator,” Beck said, forcing his lips into a smile. “What are you doing here, Mr. Stark?”

Tony was still looking at Peter. “I have business to attend to today and decided to check up on our intern. Can we talk for a sec, Pete? Alone?”

Swallowing thickly, Peter swiftly glanced at Beck before nodding. “S-Sure, Mr. Stark.”

His heart was pounding rapidly when he followed Tony into the small kitchen in the back of the corridor. After getting himself a coffee from the vending machine, Tony turned to look at Peter. “Everything okay?”

“Mhm,” Peter hummed, acting as though he was reading the bulletin board just so he wouldn’t have to look at Tony. 

“I’m picking you up from work today,” Tony said after a few seconds of silence. “Then you don’t have to walk or take the subway to get to the tower.”

Peter’s stomach churned. “A-Actually, I’m meeting with Ned after work. There’s a new, um, Lego’s set we want to buy and… build at his place. Sorry, I know I should’ve told you earlier, but I forgot.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw that Tony was coming closer. “In that case, I’ll pick you up right after my meeting. It should be over at 12:30. I’ll tell Beck you’re leaving early today.”

Peter’s eyes started to burn. “What if I don’t want to leave early? What if I just want to do my job and see my friend? Why can’t you just… let me be?”

“Because I know something’s wrong, Underoos,” Tony said, putting a hand on Peter’s back.

Flinching, Peter turned around, tears of anger and hurt spilling from his eyes. “Y-You know what your fucking problem is?” he yelled, desperately wiping over his eyes. “You are too fucking full of yourself to realize when you’re overstepping someone’s boundaries. It’s _my_ decision whether I want to see you, _not yours._ "

Tony had taken a step back. His pupils were dilated when he stared at Peter, flabbergasted. “Excuse me? You’ve always _loved_ coming over, but ever since that thing with that girl happened, you’ve become so... “

“So _what_?” Peter hissed, glaring at Tony. 

“So _withdrawn_ and-- Do you know what I think?” Tony narrowed his eyes to slits. “I think it’s just an excuse, because for some reason you think that you can’t tell me what’s really going on with you. And I don’t care what you say, I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

“You want the truth?” Peter was shaking with anger and fear now. _He had to do something._ “Working here has opened my eyes. Almost every single great Stark Industries invention comes from one of your employees, but the only one you cover in glory, is _yourself_. You’re nothing more than a _fraud_ , and I’ve lost all my respect for you.” He grabbed his backpack and threw it towards Tony, who spilled half of his coffee in the process. “You can take your fucking suit back, I don’t want it anymore.”

Without waiting for an answer, Peter stormed out of the room. 

When he later told Beck what had happened, the man smiled smugly. “Perfect. I hope he stops pestering you now. However, since I know better than to trust Tony fucking Stark, I don’t think you should come over today in case he’s keeping tabs on you.”

Profoundly relieved that he would get a short break, Peter immediately went home after work, intending to crawl under the blankets of his bed until May would get home from her shift at the hospital at 6:00 p.m. However, he had barely stepped into his room when the doorbell rang. Once. Twice. Thrice.

Cursing, Peter jogged to the door, looking through the peephole to see if the visitor was upstairs already. He couldn’t suppress the whimper escaping from his throat.

It was Tony. _Again._

“I might not have enhanced healing, but I still know you’re standing behind the door, kid,” Tony said after a few moments, his voice muffled by the door. “I don’t want to attract any unnecessary attention, so you better let me in.”

“What do you want?” Peter yelled loudly. “I told you to leave me alone.”

“Peter... You obviously lied to me about seeing Ned, and I know you lied to your aunt about being at the tower last week."

Peter’s heart leaped into his throat. _Fuck._ “You… called Aunt May behind my back?”

“I covered for you,” Tony said softly. “But I need you to tell me the truth now, or I will have to blow your cover. And don't tell me you lied because of that pool party, because I know the Johnson girl doesn't even have a pool. Look, Peter… Your aunt is really worried about you. Just like I am.”

“Just… Go away. _Please_.”

“No. I care about you Peter, and I can’t bear seeing you like this. And May can’t either. Please let me in, I don’t want to break the door.”

Giving up, Peter unlocked the door. His mind was whirling as he desperately tried to come up with an excuse, but his head was empty. When Tony stepped into the apartment, he immediately handed Peter his backpack. “This belongs to you. The backpack _and_ what’s in it.”

Peter swallowed thickly and shame crept up his spine. “I… I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark. I didn’t mean what I said earlier.”

To his astonishment, Tony smiled. “I never thought you did.” This time, Peter forced himself to stay still when Tony reached out. Very carefully, the man placed his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “What’s going on, Pete? Why are you lying to your aunt and me? Did someone… hurt you?”

“I… Y-Yes, that girl from work. Like I told you.”

But it was evident that Tony didn’t believe him anymore. “Is someone threatening or blackmailing you? Because whatever happened, you can tell me. I promise I won’t do anything - or tell anyone - without your permission. You might think you’re strong enough to deal with it on your own, but you’re just a child, Peter. And whoever is hurting you could also be hurting someone else if we don’t stop them.”

Peter gasped, eyes widening in horror. _Tony was right._ He had been so focused on himself and on his own misery that he never took that into consideration. The mere idea that he might not be Beck’s only - or last - victim had him dissolve into tears. 

Before he knew what he was doing, he had flung his arms around Tony, pressing his face into the crook of the man’s neck. “I-I’m s-so sorry.”

“Ssh, it’s alright,” Tony said soothingly, gently patting Peter’s back. Only now Peter realized that he was _hugging_ Tony, and that Tony… _didn’t reject him like last year_. Instead, he embraced him tightly, holding him like a father or an uncle would. “Everything’s going to be alright.”

“N-No,” Peter sobbed, glad that Tony couldn’t see his face right now. “N-Nothing will be alright. He… he has these photos and… and I l-let him touch me, but I… I didn’t want it, M-Mister Stark. I s-swear, I didn’t want any of it.”

Taking a sharp inhale, Tony broke the hug. His eyes were widened in alarm when he asked, “Wait, what are you-- Who _touched_ you?”

Sniffling, Peter bowed his head. “Q-Quentin Beck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally out... Now we should hope that Tony can find a way to help Peter 😢


	5. V. Courage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony confronts Beck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a lot longer than I wanted 🙈 Hope you enjoy the 5k long finale.  
> The lovely  Gypsywoman13 beta-read this one too. Check out her stories, she just started an amazing Winterspider fic <3

_Quentin Beck… Quentin Beck… Quentin Beck…_

Peter’s words were running through Tony’s mind like a broken record. _Quentin Beck._

_‘Who touched you?’ - ‘Quentin Beck.’_

_Quentin... Beck._

Even though Tony already knew the answer, he had to ask. “If you… If you say he _touched_ you, what do you mean?”

Peter’s tearful eyes were empty, broken, and lifeless when he glanced up. A choked up sob escaped his lips. “He… He r-raped me.”

Tony’s head started spinning. He heard what Peter had said, and he _knew_ that it was the truth, but it was… surreal. Feeling dizzy, Tony faltered, bumping against the doorframe leading into the living-kitchen area. _Beck raped Peter. Raped_ him. _Beck._ The man _working at Tony’s company._ The man _Tony had introduced Peter to._ The man _Tony had trusted._

Tony knew he should be furious, knew he should put on his suit, fly to Beck and beat him until he was an unrecognizable mass of flesh and blood, but he couldn’t move. Peter’s confession had shocked him to the core. “What-- how-- when did he--” Tony babbled, incapable of forming a proper sentence.

Peter was looking like a picture of misery. “It started three and a half weeks ago. At first, he just wanted me to-- but then, he… he...” Peter gulped, staring ahead blankly. “He… has photos of me changing into my suit. He threatened to leak them and tell everyone who I was, and… He said that friends of his have the photos as well and that they would post them if he didn’t report to them every thirty minutes. I know I should’ve done something or told someone, but… I was so scared, s-so I just let him do all this to me.”

Tony had never felt more awful in his life (which was saying a lot). “Peter… Please, listen to me,” he croaked weakly. “This is not your fault. And you didn’t ‘let’ him do this to you. He threatened, blackmailed, and manipulated you. It’s very reasonable that you were scared.” Tony paused, carefully weighing his next words. He didn’t want Peter to think that he was blaming him. “However, he probably lied to you. I don’t think the part about his friends is true.”

“But what if it is?” Peter cried, slowly shaking his head. “If he, or anyone else, leaked these photos, it would put May’s life in danger.”

“Yes, but there would be ways to protect her,” Tony said as softly as possible. “I know you’re just a kid and that you want to go to school, but… Clint has a family too, and everyone knows who he is. And ever since Rogers broke him out of the raft, his situation is even more dicey, but we’re keeping them safe. Just like we’re keeping Pepper safe.”

Peter’s voice was very quiet when he asked, “And… what about you?”

Tony furled his brows. “What do you mean?”

“Beck knows you made my suit. I never signed the Sokovia Accords, so I’m not authorized to play the hero. What I’m doing is illegal, and since you’re supporting it, they would do the same thing to you like they did to Captain America and Miss Romanoff. Call you a criminal and try to lock you up in the raft.”

“No… nonononono, Peter, please listen,” Tony said, feeling worse by the second. “First of all, I would gladly go to the raft if it undid everything, but... what happened with Rogers is completely different. There’s no need for you to sign the Accords, for various reasons.”

“But I learned everything about them in school. They were designed to regulate the activities of enhanced individuals, specifically those who work for the government or for private organizations, such as the Avengers.”

“Yes, but you _don’t_ work for the government or the Avengers,” Tony said desperately. “That thing in Germany wasn’t an official mission or anything. And since you turned me down last year, you aren’t an official Avenger either. King T’Challa, that ant guy, and you aren’t obliged to sign the Accords. The only reason ant guy got into trouble was because he helped Rogers conceal _Barnes_ from arrest. But you… you are a local hero under the jurisdiction of the NYPD and the State of New York. You’ve never gotten into any real conflict with the Secretary of State, the UN, or any of the countries which ratified the Accords. And last but not least, you are a minor. You wouldn’t even be able to legally sign the Accords without Aunt May signing them as well.”

“A-Are you telling me that I let him do all that because--” Peter’s eyes widened. “ _O-Oh god_ , I’m so fucking _stupid_.”

“No, Peter. You aren’t stupid, not at all,” Tony said softly. “Shit, the details of the Accords have never even been released to the general public. Most people out there, if not all, think that _every_ enhanced human being is affected by it. But it’s not true, and I… I thought I’d explained everything to you last year already _._ ”

Peter shuddered. “No… You didn’t.”

For a moment, Tony had to close his eyes. Not only did he introduce Peter to his rapist, he also failed to give him vital information that could have helped prevent this from happening. _This was mainly his fault._ He completely failed to keep Peter safe. When Tony finally opened his eyes again, his vision was blurred. “I’m so sorry, Peter. I know this isn’t gonna help you, but I-- Fuck, I’m so fucking sorry.”

Being his usual way too precious and modest self, Peter shook his head. “This isn’t your fault. You… aren’t the one who hurt me.”

“No, I’m not, but it happened in _my_ company, with _my_ employee. And if I hadn’t been the worst fucking mentor in history, then Beck wouldn’t have been able to blackmail you with false information.”

“I still wouldn’t have risked putting May in danger,” Peter mumbled. “And you couldn’t have known he was… like that. I t-trusted him too. And you’re not… a bad mentor. Not at all. You knew something was wrong, and you asked me so many times, but I-- I just--” Tony’s heart clenched when Peter started sobbing again. “I’m s-so ashamed. He t-took photos, M-Mister Stark. S-So many photos. And he h-hurt me so much, but I… I n-never stopped him.”

Tony’s heart fucking broke when Peter flung his arms around him again. Why was he still looking for comfort in Tony, when he should be hating him? Tears were running down Tony’s cheeks when he held the boy in his arms, softly caressing his curls. _He’ll make Beck pay for this._

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” Tony mumbled, finally feeling wrath bubbling up inside him. 

“N-No.” Looking terrified, Peter broke the hug. “Y-You can’t. I don’t want you to become a m-murderer for me, and… what if he spoke the truth about his friends?”

“He wouldn’t be the first man I’d killed,” Tony growled. “He hurt you. He hurt you really bad, and--”

“But I don’t want anyone killing _or dying_ because of me. Please, Mr. Stark… y-you said you wouldn’t do anything I didn’t want.” 

When fresh tears welled up in Peter’s eyes, Tony sighed deeply. “You still can’t let him get away with it. I promised you that I would figure something out, and I _will_. I’m going to take care of it, but I need you to promise _me_ that you’ll report him once I’ve gotten rid of the photos.”

“What if he still tells someone?” Peter asked fearfully.

“Then he won’t have proof anymore. I’ll make sure he won’t tell a living soul, though.”

Peter started shaking. “I… I don’t know if I can do that,” he said, dropping his gaze. “There would be a trial, and then May would find out, and… _oh my god_. May can’t find out, Mr. Stark, please. It would destroy her.”

Sighing once more, Tony calmly said, “If you don’t want Beck dead, you need to report him. If you don’t do it, others could get hurt. And as much as I’d love the idea, he can’t get locked away without a trial. But there are a lot of ways to make it easier for you, Peter. I’ll provide you with the best lawyers and the best therapists. You will never have to see him again, not even if you testify. I promise you. And about May… I’m afraid you need to tell her.”

For a while, Peter was just crying silently. Then, he nodded slowly. “I… I promise I’ll report him, but… c-can you please stay here until May comes home and… can you tell her?”

Tony’s lips curled into a proud, yet heartbroken smile. “Of course, Underoos.”

They sat down on the couch and turned on the TV, so it wouldn’t be so quiet. At first Peter made sure to keep his distance, but then he asked Tony whether he’d mind if he lied down and curled up. 

“Of course not,” Tony said. “You can rest your head on my legs, if you want.” His heart clenched when Peter flashed him a wary look. “I won’t hurt you, kid. I’m not like Beck. I’d… rather die than do to you what he did.”

Mumbling something unintelligible, Peter slowly laid down. Tony put a pillow onto his lap, smiling when Peter did rest his head on it. Very cautiously, Tony began stroking Peter’s hair, and after only a few minutes, the boy seemed to drift off to sleep. 

Even though his legs started to hurt after half an hour, Tony didn’t move an inch until May came home around 6:00 o’clock. Her brows were furled in confusion. “Mr. Stark?”

“Ssh,” he whispered, but it was too late. 

Peter stirred, blinking a few times before rubbing over his tired eyes with the knuckle of his index fingers. “H-Hey, Aunt May.”

“Is everything alright?” she asked worriedly. 

“Y-Yeah, um… M-Mister Stark is here to… He has to tell you something.” After flashing Tony one last pleading look, Peter jumped up from the couch and fled to his room.

“What the-- What’s going on here? Did he finally tell you what’s up with him?” There was so much hope in May’s eyes that Tony shifted nervously. 

"Why don't you sit down for a sec?" 

"Oh god," May said, almost as if she knew that this would be worse than she could have even imagined. "What happened?" 

But Tony didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth, but no word came out. Only when May raised her brows, Tony managed to gather all his courage; if _Peter_ was brave enough to admit it, Tony had to be as well. "One of the employees at Stark Industries… Um, the team leader, actually… he blackmailed Peter with some photos showing him in the Spider-Man suit and, um, made him do things in exchange for not releasing them." 

It took May a few seconds to comprehend what Tony had just said. "Wait wha-- What do you mean, he… _m-made him do things?_ What kind of things?" 

Incapable of looking at her, Tony stared at his left knee. "Sexual things." When seconds went by without May making even one sound, Tony nervously glanced up. Even though the woman was looking _at_ him, it didn’t seem as though she could actually _see_ him. "Ms. Parker? M-May?" 

Only when Tony carefully touched her upper arm, did she snap out of it. "N-No, what you-- What you’re saying d-doesn’t make any sense. Peter didn’t-- h-he wasn’t...” May swallowed thickly, looking as broken as Tony felt. A few tears escaped her eyes, mingling with the cheap mascara to begin a tainted trail down her cheek. 

“I wished it wasn’t true, but it is,” Tony whispered, barely able to refrain from crying himself.

In as few words as possible, he told her what he knew. When he was finished, May had buried her face in her hands, shoulders trembling from the sobs rocking her body. “You p-promised me you’d keep him s-safe. When I-- When I allowed… a-all of this.”

Knowing May was referring to the talk they had after she had caught Peter in the Spider-Man suit last October, Tony desperately shook his head. “I… I _know_ , but this is... this could’ve happened to Peter even if he wasn’t--”

“It h-happened in your company, and… and that guy, h-he was…” When May’s voice broke, she sobbed even louder. 

“I know, I’m sorry,” Tony choked out. He understood her anger, her despair... her _pain_. “I swear, I had no idea Beck was like that, but I’ll make sure he’ll never hurt anyone ever again, I promise.”

But May didn’t seem to listen. “I… I have to talk to Peter.” Without hesitation, she jumped up and rushed into the corridor. Tony heard her knocking on Peter’s door, choking out a heartbroken, “C-Can I come in, baby?” A few seconds later, the door opened and two different voices started crying loudly. 

When Tony got up from the couch, leaning sideways to glance into the corridor, he saw a glimpse of May and Peter embracing in his room. Not wanting to intrude, Tony quietly walked back to the front door and left the apartment. _Peter was safe now._ Once he was standing outside in the hallway, he leaned against the closed door and tried to take a few deep breaths. He had to think this through… 

Even though he doubted that Beck had friends who would leak the photos in case anything happened to him, Tony still had to make sure before he did anything. Therefore, he quickly left the building and put on his blue glasses to connect to his security and defense system, which provided him with backdoor access to many of the world's largest telecommunications companies. 

“F.R.I., give me everything you have on Quentin Beck. Access his phone, computer, and any other communication system or computerized device you can link back to him.”

~~

Three hours later, Tony had looked at dozens of photos Beck had taken in the last seven weeks (including those showing Peter changing into his suit), had read a vast amount of messages Beck had sent or received, had checked about a hundred websites Beck had viewed, and had opened more than fifty files Beck had downloaded or saved on any of his devices. 

Tony almost had to throw up when he saw a glimpse of one of the photos Beck had taken of Peter _in bed_ , immediately telling F.R.I.D.A.Y. to try and filter them out. Even though he wished he didn’t have to do it, Tony made sure to secure them in case they were needed as evidence later on. 

However, there were also some files Tony wasn’t able to open due to an advanced encryption Beck was using. Even though Tony was now certain that Beck didn’t have any friends who would leak the photos if he got killed arrested, he had no way of knowing if he had really found all the evidence Beck had gathered against Peter. 

It was midnight when Tony flew over to Beck’s place. With his thermal vision he was able to confirm that the man was upstairs in what could only be his bedroom, alone. Now that he was here, Tony was barely able to contain himself anymore, but he knew he had to be careful and not alert any of the neighbors. _Not yet_.

Deactivating Beck’s cheap alarm system took F.R.I.D.A.Y less than two minutes. As soon as he had entered the house, Tony flew up the stairs and almost crashed through the bedroom door, not giving any more fucks about being loud.

Beck jumped up from the bed with a loud scream. Frightened and disoriented, he looked around in the dark room, but since Tony’s suit was partly visible even when it was dark, it didn’t take long until his overwhelmed brain seemed to realize what was going on. “M-Mister Stark, what--”

Tony literally _knocked_ the rest of his sentence out of him. With one fast movement of his arm Tony sent Beck flying into the wall opposite of the door, almost hoping he’d ‘accidentally’ broken his fucking neck. Before Beck could even try to get back on his feet, Tony was already on him and picked him up.

“You touched my kid!” he yelled. With a furious growl, Tony threw Beck across the room once more, smiling in satisfaction when the man screamed in pain. “Oh, did that hurt?” Tony leaped forward once more and grabbed Beck by the neck. He lifted him up until the man’s feet barely touched the ground anymore. “I know a guy who can make himself as tiny as an ant and by pressing one small button, grows as tall as a four-storey building in a matter of seconds. And you know what I’ll ask him to do next time I see him? I’ll ask him to crawl into your asshole and press said button.”

If Beck was intimidated by the threat, it didn’t show. Wheezing, he choked out, lips curled into an unhinged smile, “This is all you can do, right? Hiding in your fucking suit, beating up an unarmed and defenseless man. But go on. Prove your critics right. Show them why you and your group of freaks need to be locked away.”

Tony knew that Beck was just trying to provoke him, but unfortunately, he was _right_. He couldn’t do this as Iron Man. With an angry snort, Tony threw Beck into the middle of the room and stepped out of the iron suit. It hovered in the room, providing some sort of dim light.

“I don’t need my suit to take it up with you, you fucking piece of shit,” he hissed, straddling Beck’s waist before raising his arm, ready to hit him with his human fist.

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Stark.”

Tony froze. “What?”

Beck let out an insane laugh. His usually pearly-white teeth were smeared with blood. “Admit it. You’re just mad at me because I was the one to deflower his tight virgin ass. But don’t worry, I made sure to record it for you.”

Seeing red, Tony moved his arm down in one swift motion. Last second, Beck moved his head to the side, making Tony howl in pain when his fist hit the wooden floor. Despite his injuries, Beck still seemed strong enough to defend himself, and before Tony knew what was happening, Beck had lifted up his torso and headbutted him. A second later, Beck managed to throw Tony off, smacking him hard across the face.

“Didn’t you know I was familiar with martial arts?” Beck chuckled, kicking Tony in the guts. Gasping, Tony doubled up, unable to react before another kick had him topple down. 

With a pained groan, Tony landed on his ass. “Fuck you,” he choked out, trying to get back on his feet, but now it was Beck who was straddling him and pinning his arms down. 

“You know, it really is unfortunate that you never had the guts to do what we both know you secretly want,” Beck sneered, “But even more unfortunate is that you didn’t manage to save him. He was crying _so much_ , and you weren’t there for him. _Never._ But don’t worry, the little cock slut eventually started to enjoy it. I’m even sure he was pretending I was you, because he was moaning your name sometimes. So you might still have a shot with him, Stark.”

Tony didn’t even believe for a second that any of it was true. Screaming with rage, Tony tried to free himself and throw Beck off, but the man only shifted until he was able to press his knee against Tony’s throat. “Too bad I’m going to kill you now. But don’t worry, I’m going to take good care of Peter.”

Fear surged through Tony when Beck put his weight onto his knee, as though intending to crush Tony’s larynx and neck. Wheezing, Tony struggled and squirmed, his legs kicking uselessly into the air, but even when he got his right hand free he didn’t manage to push Beck off. If only he could press the button on his watch to reactivate his suit…

Without warning Beck let go, his body tilting backwards like it was getting pulled back by an invisible force. Struggling to get air through his hurting windpipe, Tony was only dimly aware of the scuffle happening a few feet away from him. Only once he finally managed to get to his feet and turn around, did he see what had happened.

Beck was webbed to a wall, and before him stood--

“P-Peter?” Tony choked out, rubbing his bruised neck.

* * *

At the sound of Tony wheezing his name, Peter turned around and ripped the mask off his head. His voice was tearful when he asked, “A-Are you okay, Mr. Stark?”

“What are you doing here? It’s…” Tony glanced at his watch. “12:16 a.m.”

“I know, but I wanted to make sure that…” Peter gulped. “Um. I-I was waiting for you in case you would come here like you had said. I left Aunt May a note.”

“Shit, Pete, you shouldn’t have done that,” Tony said, stumbling over to pull him into an embrace. “I promised you wouldn’t have to see him again.”

“It’s okay,” Peter mumbled, trying to blink away his tears. “I’m glad I came.” Though Peter wished he would have been faster. He had been hiding in a tree four houses away and had eventually dozed off. Only once Karen alerted him that the spider drone had registered movement inside Beck’s bedroom, did he start up from his doze, arriving just in time to save Tony.

“Oh, how _cute_ ,” came Beck’s snarling voice from where he was webbed against the wall. “Why don’t you two hop onto the bed and just fuck al--”

Without thinking Peter broke the hug and shot a web at Beck’s mouth, sighing in relief when it successfully shut him up. He had enough of Beck mocking and manipulating him. It was time to turn the tables and beat him with his own weapons.

“Mr. Stark… Remember that we agreed on _making it look like an accident_ in case he refused to delete all the photos?” Peter asked loudly, glancing at Tony meaningfully. 

Fortunately, the man caught on after only a few quiet moments. “Um… sure. Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind. You can’t let him get away with it, Peter.”

“I know, but after what he just tried to do... I want him to _suffer_. He h-hurt me so much, and now he hurt you too, and… I don’t want it to be over quickly. His friends will release the photos no matter what we do to him, and for all the trouble it’s gonna bring us, I want him to pay.” Thanks to his enhanced hearing Peter could hear that Beck had started breathing more heavily, so he decided to up the ante. “I want you to call, um, your guys after all and… ‘make him disappear’. Like we had previously talked about.”

Tony’s lips curled into a mean grin. “I mean… You know I’m with you, but to be honest, I… fucked up. I haven’t had the chance to ask him to delete the photos yet. I was so mad that I attacked him right away.”

“Since he just tried to kill you, I don’t think he’d be willing to cooperate anyways,” Peter said, almost _feeling_ the fear radiating from Beck as he tried to say something through the web sticking his lips together. 

“True. Keep in mind though that once they’ve… ‘taken care of him’, there’s no turning back. You know they actually _pay_ to get to hurt them for as long as _they_ want, so... maybe we should ask him and give him one last chance, at least? If we don’t do that, then we aren’t any better than him.”

Peter tilted his head, barely able to resist from smirking. “But... how do we know he won’t just promise to delete everything and screw us over once he’s in jail?”

Tony turned his head to glare at Beck. “Hm. Good point.” Sighing, Tony took out his phone, swiping over the screen. “I said this will be your decision, so let’s do it your way. I better call them right now before the neighbors alert the feds or anything. A kidnapping will be very plausible thanks to the damage in here.”

At this point, Beck’s muffled screams had gotten too loud to ignore, so Peter told Tony to wait. Even though he hated going near the man, he walked over to Beck and, reluctantly, ripped the webs off his mouth. 

As soon as the webs were gone, Beck said, sounding panicky, “I l-lied to you, I never sent the photos to friends of mine. I only gave William an encrypted flash drive and told him where he could find the encryption key in case something happened to me. There’s a note on there with instructions, but I can delete the encryption key and… send him a voice message to give it to you on Monday, or throw it away, or something. Please, Peter… I- I’m truly sorry for what I--”

“Don’t you dare say that to him,” Tony snarled, rushing over. His face was taut with anger. “You have no fucking right to apologize, you fucking piece of shit.”

Peter felt some kind of satisfaction when tears shimmered in Beck’s eyes. “O-Okay, I’m-- I just-- Please, I promise I’ll delete everything. I will never tell anyone about you, I swear. And… and I’m not just saying that. Please give me a chance, _please!”_

“If you’re lying to us, then woe betide you,” Tony hissed, clenching his fist. “In contrast to _you_ , I do have friends, Beck. _Powerful_ friends, as well as many, many people who like to suck up to my ass. So if you end up telling _anyone_ about Peter, I _will_ find a way to make sure that those guys I know will get their hands on you after all. Do you _understand?”_

“Y-Yes, I understand. I promise I’ll--”

“When they arrest you, you will immediately confess to the abuse and rape of your intern. You will tell them that you blackmailed him with… um…”

“Claiming I tried to steal one of the drones from the department?” Peter suggested. He knew one of them was worth a few hundred thousand dollars. “We could say that he threatened that everyone would believe him over me, so I would lose the internship and get arrested.”

Tony flashed Peter a swift smile before focusing his attention back on Beck. “Did you get that?”

“Y-Yeah.” Beck nodded vigorously.

“Good. I’ll provide you with a lawyer, but only to make sure you’re not saying anything you’re not supposed to say. He’ll give you details of what will be Peter’s testimony. Make sure your confession matches.” Then, Tony looked back at Peter. “How about you swing home now, hm?” he said softly. “I’m gonna take it from here. I promise I’ll be careful this time.”

After one last look at Beck, Peter nodded. “Okay. Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

Tony’s lips curled into a fatherly smile. “How about you start calling me Tony, kiddo?”

* * *

Beck was arrested an hour later. Fortunately, he stuck to their agreement and didn’t tell the feds about Peter’s identity. To Peter’s relief, Tony deleted most of the nudes Beck had saved on his phone. He did leave a few for evidence in case Beck withdrew his confession, but they didn’t show too many details of the abuse Peter had to go through.

Peter didn’t return back to work. The official explanation was that Tony took him under his wing after Beck had gotten arrested ‘for sexually abusing a minor’, but Peter didn’t care too much what the team was thinking. The most important thing was that Tony managed to get the flash drive from Williams, ensuring that nobody would ever be able to decrypt it even without the encryption key.

On top of that, Tony and the NYPD managed to conceal Peter’s name from the media outlets. The trial that took place almost six months later was closed to the public, and due to Beck pleading guilty to all charges, Peter’s testimony was over before he knew it. 

Thanks to May, Tony, and the therapist he’d started seeing after the events, Peter continuously made progress with his recovery. Eventually, he even felt ready to do ‘more’ and help prevent these things from happening to other children or teenagers. In association with Iron Man and Stark Industries, Spider-Man became the voice and (masked) face of a nationwide charity supporting victims of sexual abuse. As Spider-Man, Peter also encouraged children to come forward if anyone was hurting them, and he even agreed to appear in a special issue comic book, which carefully addressed the issue of child molestation.

All in all, things were starting to look bright again. Even though Peter would never forget what had happened to him, he knew he would learn to live with it. And he was determined not to let the bad things that Beck had done to him define him for who he was. After all, he was more than a victim of abuse.

He was a _survivor_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then Thanos came and Peter got dusted while Tony was cradling him in his arms 😭 Only to be brought back and have Tony die in front of him. Can’t this poor boy get a rest? (Spoiler: NO. Which is why I will write more angst/fluff and whump stories 🙈). This brings me to - Who knows what comic I’m talking about in the last long paragraph? 😏  
> \--  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this story. Dear Becca (gonewiththewind), thank you so much for this amazing prompt - I hope I was able to fulfill it to your satisfaction 💕 And a big thank you to everyone who read and supported me, you are all lovely 💕 Check out my other works, and/or subscribe to me if you want to be kept up to date with what I’m posting 💕 
> 
> You can find a quick overview of my completed, current and planned projects here: [Masterlist (Tumblr)](https://thenelalila.tumblr.com/post/639135744911343616/masterlist-ao3).  
> You can also reach out to me on Discord (nela-is-strange#3883) or join our [MCU server](https://discord.gg/6wFsB2f) ❤


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